VERD, CAPE, a promontory on the west coast of Africa, forty miles north-west of the mouth of the river Gambia, in 14° 45' north lat., and 14° 40' west long. The Cape Verd islands are situated about 400 miles west of the Cape; they consist of ten islands beside islets and rocks, and belong to Portugal. The principal is San Jago, the barren and melancholy appearance of which is in unison with the wretchedness of the inhabitants. The island of Maio produces cattle and cotton; the island of Fuego (or Fao), so called from its active volcano, is abundant in fruit. Brava, or St. John's, produces excellent wine and salitre. These four islands form a chain, running from east to west. The island Boa-Vista, which is fertile in cotton and indigo, forms, with the island Sel, or Do Sal, a line north and south. The four remaining islands form part of a chain in the direction of south-east to north-west, and succeed each other in the following order: St. Nicholas, one of the largest and best governed of the archipelago; Santa Lucia, high and wooded, with only brackish water; St. Vincent, wooded and abounding in tortoises; and San Antonio, the mountains of which are said to equal the peak of Teneriffe in height. All these islands are subject to destructive droughts; but their natural produce might render them of considerable value under an intelligent government. Their population is reckoned at about 42,000.